April 25, 2001
Reading 22:22 -34
“I have sinned, for I
did not know You stood in the way against me” (34).
Some of the events in this account of Balaam and his donkey can be considered humorous; I wonder at his state of mind when his donkey turned around and spoke to him! I am not sure what my reaction would be if my dog suddenly told me he didn’t like the dog food I have been feeding her for the past three years! The amazing thing to me is that Balaam actually held a conversation with his donkey! I guess, if I could get her to speak on demand I could make a great amount of money on the “Talk (excuse the pun) Show” circuit.
This account, however, contains a very serious and important lesson for us. The words in our text, “I did not know” speak loud and clear to the writer of this column. God was seeking to get a message across to Balaam and even stood in his way to prevent him from pursuing his chosen course, but he could not see the Angel, even though his donkey could. The poor donkey got whipped three times until he finally crushed Balaam’s leg against a wall and then laid down, refusing to go any further!
The Lord first opened the mouth of the donkey and then the eyes of Balaam. Although I have never had an animal speak to me, I do suffer from the ailment of not always seeing “the Angel of God” seeking to direct my path. How much difficulty do we find ourselves in when we either are so determined to travel down the path we have chosen, or are unable to see the hand of God leading us? The fact remains that in either case it is a sin against God. The first words out of the mouth of Balaam was, “I have sinned”. His excuse, “I did not know”, did not make a favorable impression on God. Ignorance is not a valid excuse.
After God opened his eyes to the real situation, Balaam “bowed his head, and fell on his face”. How often do we read in scripture that when a person “sees” God, their immediate reaction is to fall on their face? It is in such a position before God that we repent of our sin and yield ourselves fully to the will of Almighty God. “If it displeases You, I will turn back”. Is this not the essence of repentance, to turn away from those things that displease God and yield to His will?
Sometimes it takes a radical experience before we learn the lessons God wants to teach us. The Angel of the Lord told Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak”. This was the lesson Balaam learned, and it appears he learned it well. Balaam was on his way to see Balak, king of the Moabites, because he was afraid of the Children of Israel and wanted him to curse them. The condition Balaam laid down from the very beginning was, “Whatever He shows me, I will tell you” (23:3. When Balak was displeased with what he heard, Balaam said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?” (12). Compare 23:26; 24:13.
Despite all that he was offered, wealth, fame and an easy life, Balaam put into practice the lesson he had learned. There is a principle here for us be aware of: When we learn a lesson from the Lord, He will often test us on it immediately. If you are anything like me, God often has to send speaking donkeys my way before a new lesson sinks in!
To put it into a different analogy, growth in Christ is like a slide show: He shows us a slide, and will not move on to the next until we have absorbed the lesson contained in the first.